


brun de poing.

by Wildspace



Category: Football RPF
Genre: (writing about Neymar getting beat is a good way to cope), Abusive Relationships, Alternate Universe, Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, Word prompt, boxer!Neymar, boxer!Rafinha, tattoo artist!Geri, tattoo artist!Leo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-27
Updated: 2017-08-27
Packaged: 2018-12-20 19:37:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11927823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wildspace/pseuds/Wildspace
Summary: « I look at you and see all the ways a soul can bruise, and I wish I could sink my hands into your flesh and light lanterns along your spine so you know that there’s nothing but light when I see you. »– Shinji Moon





	brun de poing.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there :)  
> This work is inspired by the word prompt of the August Prompt Set from the Football Monthly Collection. The title is from a campaign lead by the association called "Ni Putes Ni Soumises" who fight for violence against women. You can find the images _[here](http://resize-elle.ladmedia.fr/r/625,,forcex/crop/625,804,center-middle,forcex,ffffff/img/var/plain_site/storage/images/societe/interviews/violences-faites-aux-femmes-la-nouvelle-campagne-de-ni-putes-ni-soumises-2244762/23705106-1-fre-FR/Violences-faites-aux-femmes-la-nouvelle-campagne-de-Ni-Putes-Ni-Soumises.jpg)_. 
> 
> Like always, this is no Beta'd so please, don't hesitate to tell me if you saw mistakes, I'll correct them as soon as I can.

 

When Leo meets Neymar, he has tanned skin – dark ink everywhere on his body. Their lives crossed paths because the Brazilian wants to add another tattoo to his collection and decided to enter Leo's shop. Neymar has a bunch of silly tattoos but some are really goods so Leo is pretty interested to see what the man wants to draw on his skin. In the end, it's a biblical quote that Leo inked on his ribs. Neymar is quite talkative – so when he's not grinding his teeth because of the pain, he's telling the tattoo artist all about his life. How his family is everything to him, how he's got a sister just a few years younger than him, how he left Brasil to study in Spain, how the separation of his people was really hard for him, how he starts boxing just for the fact of staying in shape, how he quickly became attached to the sport in himself, how he's going to meet his new coach next week, how this man is supposed to help him reach the professional level.

Despite being quite chatty, Neymar doesn't move a muscle during all time Leo tattooed him. It's pretty nice to have a customer who doesn't complain about the pain every thirty seconds or keeps moving even if Leo told them to move as little as possible. And Leo can't help it but he also thinks that Neymar's skin under his hand is a pretty nice sensation. Not that he allowed his mind to think about it more than ten seconds. The Argentinean has a strict policy of not flirting with the customer. And Neymar isn't going to be an exception – even if Leo find his hazel eyes quite mesmerizing. Leo plans on finishing Neymar's tattoo and forgetting about him the moment he steps out of the tattoo parlor.

Except Neymar is quickly becoming more than a customer. He's becoming a friend.

 

+

 

Almost six months after their first encounter, bruises start to appear on Neymar's skin. At first, Leo is not really worried – Neymar is a boxer; bruises are a common thing when you do combat sports. But then, some of them are darker than other – seems more painful than ordinary bruises. That when Neymar begin to lie. The first falsehood is about a fall in the stairs and even Neymar can tell nobody gonna buy his explanation. So, when the Brazilian realize his story isn't gonna be a good cover, he changes his version – put all his wounds on his clumsiness. It could work, it _really_ could – except Leo isn't dumb. Clearly not. And now, every time Neymar is stepping into his shop, Leo searches for clues. His eyes draw the edges of every bruise – trying to figure what _thing_ can be responsible for the mark. Once, he even puts his fingers on one of the bruises and applies pressure on it – watches Neymar flinches under the pain. After a few weeks, Neymar's bruises – like any other bruises – starts to fade away. They disappear and never show up again. Well, actually, they do make a comeback. From now on, they hide under Neymar's clothes – away from Leo's sharp eyesight.

 

+

 

Thing is, Leo is a pretty smart person. He's not really a talkative guy, but he's quite observant – always catching little details that seem insignificant at first. So, when everything goes down on one afternoon, Leo is there to notice all situation. Neymar and himself meet months ago and it's really not surprising to see the Brazilian pass the entry of his tattoo parlor, so when the door tinkle, Leo doesn't even raise up his head from the dragon he's currently drawing. Except Geri starts to curse really loud and Leo has to stop what he's doing and knows why exactly his friend becomes so vulgar suddenly. When the Argentinean looks up, the taller man is pointing at Neymar's face with wide eyes and making huge movements with his hands. For a short instant, Leo thinks there's gonna be a collision between Neymar's head and Geri's hands. And then, he's seen it – the massive black eye and broken eyebrow arch Neymar's got.

 

+

 

It's a bit complicated – with Gerard insisting for explanations and Neymar doing everything he can to melt in the ground; but in the end, Leo manages to have all three of them sitting around a table. There is barely five seconds of silence until Geri can't stop the words for flying out of his mouth. Maybe they are a bit harsh because Neymar winces when he is hearing them.

 

– What the hell happened to your face ?!

 

Sometimes, Leo wonders if Neymar thinks artist persons are dumb because he has the nerve to say to them that he had a rough training at the boxing club a few days ago. He tells them how he and his partner decide to do a fight session and things got a bit intense in the end. And surely, Neymar thinks Leo is an idiot because he's betting on Leo believing that Rafinha beats him at training to save his skinny ass from the older man's lecture. Except, Leo _knows_ Rafinha is a sweetheart. Well, he hasn't actually met him but Neymar talks a lot about his friend and there is no way that Rafinha did that to the Brazilian. And Leo's pretty sure boxers are wearing a helmet when they fight against each other – even when it's only for training purpose. So, obviously, Leo gets suspicious. Especially because Neymar being the shitty liar he is can't help to add that they should see Rafinha's face. Like he's got a black eye and a broken bone too – like it makes his excuse real. After that, the subject is quickly dropped and Neymar disappears for days.

 

Things got weird when the next person who doesn't want a tattoo but still passes the door of the shop happens to be Rafinha. He lets his eyes swept the room until they fell on Leo and there is a flash in his eyes – like he just recognizes him. He has, actually, because Neymar can't stop talking about this little man who keeps attract him like a magnet. So he's got quite the assertive pace when he's walking stray to the Argentinean.

 

– You are Leo, aren't you ?

 

Said Leo hasn't even realized someone unknown was in the shop 'til the new incomer talks to him. Saying his name actually. It takes Leo a few seconds to find a name for the face – because he's pretty sure he has already seen this person somewhere, he just doesn't remember meeting him. That's when things suddenly click in Leo's head – that's Rafinha. The same Rafinha who's supposed to have made Neymar looks like a gangster.

 

– That would be me. And you're the infamous Rafinha, or am I wrong ?

 

That takes the younger man by surprise and he can't help frowning his eyebrows – searching for an answer he doesn't know. There are a few seconds of silence like if Rafinha is actually making a list of reasons for this sudden celebrity. When he doesn't find one believable enough, he tells that to the Argentinean directly. Unfortunately, it almost sounds like a question.

 

– I didn't know I was famous.

– Well, if I trust Neymar with what he said to me a couple of days ago, you are the one responsible for his injuries. The black eye and broken eyebrows arch face.

– You see Ney a few days ago ? Really ? He hasn't come to the gym for three weeks now and this jerk keeps ignoring my texts.

 

The Brazilian frowns his nose quickly – annoyance writing all over his face. It takes a fraction of seconds for Rafinha's brain to really analyze what the older man's just said.

 

– Wait, what ?! What did you just say about Ney's face ? He's got another black eye and a fucking broken eyebrow arch ? Fuck. So I was right, this piece of shit is really beating him. I fucking knew he was lying when he said he'll never leave a hand on Ney. Even if you have all the troubles in the world to find your equilibrium, you can't have that many bruises on his body. I'm gonna kill this fucking dickhead ! I swear to god, I'm gonna kill him.

 

Rafinha keeps ranting about the person supposed to be the one responsible for Neymar's injuries and can't help all the Portuguese insults that fly out of his mouth. He's striding across the room, walking with furious steps and clenching fists. Leo still hasn't said anything and his face got blank but his brain is working faster than five minutes ago – trying to wrap his mind around the things Rafinha just tells him. In the end, it's Geri who takes the matter into his own hands. He grabs Leo's and Rafinha's arm, takes them to the back room and sits both of them on a chair. Then, he perches himself on the edge of the desk and looks straight to the Brazilian eyes.

 

– Tell us everything you know.

 

+

 

The story goes this way.

 

Few months before Neymar comes to Leo's shop, he meets Paolo. He's got a good sense of humor and a nice body – they click instantly. Paolo courts the younger Brazilian for weeks. He buys him flowers the first time (and Neymar can't help but laughs at him), then he switches for gifts (they are nice but Neymar isn't the type of guy to wear a watch that screams « I'm super rich »), he invites him to the movie (the plot was boring and Neymar falls asleep halfway), he even takes him to this really nice restaurant in vogue at the moment (and it's the best thing Paolo did for Neymar – by far). Their relationship is good – seems strong and real. Neymar ends up give his boyfriend a key to his apartment because he's a hopeless romantic. But also, because he really wants to believe that this, what he's got with Paolo, gonna last for as long as possible. It's pretty sad to realize that but his relationship with the older man is one of the only things he's got in his life – one of the best too.

 

Then, Leo comes in. And everything starts to go wrong.

 

The older Brazilian has never revealed his other side until now – it's sad this is not a glorious side of himself. The man is jealous. It's a fact and Neymar doesn't realize it at first. Maybe he doesn't want to believe it either because Paolo has meet Rafinha and nothing happened. Even if they are all hands over each other when they are together – constantly touching the other one. Maybe it's because Neymar thinks of Rafa as his brother and not someone he's attracted to like Leo. Or maybe it's just because Paolo he's a piece of shit in this other side of him – the major part of him in fact. So, Neymar goes to Leo's shop to get a new tattoo – he comes home with freshly inked ribs and a massive wish to become the Argentinean's friend. After that, the Brazilian starts to go to the tattoo parlor with random excuses – then not at all. It's also when Neymar begins to talk about Leo. Sure, he talks about Geri and the shop too, but Leo owns a big part of his words. (Paolo isn't really ok with his boyfriend talking so much about another guy. He doesn't say a thing about it though – he _shows_ it.)

 

Paolo throws a lamp at Neymar's head during a fight. This is the first of a long list of object to hit Neymar's body ; generally, it's his skull whose target – Paolo has a thing for making the younger Brazilian's face bleed. This is how everything starts – the « tossing random objects at my boyfriend's face » quickly becoming an everyday thing. And Neymar is not an idiot, he knows that getting beat by the man who's supposed to love you isn't normal. He knows that but he also learns that Paolo is a threatening and possessive piece of shit. Soon enough, when Neymar bring up a possibility for their relationship to end, Paolo tells him he can't do that because if he did he's going to make him regret it. At first, it's just implied but then, the older man clearly says to him that his sister life is at risk if Neymar leaves him. When it's not effective enough (because Neymar is one hundred percents sure that Paolo doesn't know where his sister lives), he moves to threaten Leo's life (and, then, Neymar is afraid because he knows that Paolo is aware of where Leo's shop is located).

 

It's when things get messier. When a fist collides with a jaw.

 

Now that Neymar knows about this pathetic side of Paolo, he wants to rebel. He really wants that but it's a little bit complicated when you can't leave because your friends are subject to threats from your abusive boyfriend. So Neymar stays and prays for his karma to finally turns good. It doesn't. The younger man keeps returning to the apartment where he lives with Paolo and the bruises are getting plentiful. The only thing that changed is that Paolo starts to act more smartly – he hits Neymar where the bruises can't be seen. So Neymar ends up with a collection of dark blue prints all over his torso and back. They make a good combo with all his tattoos – his skin more black than Moreno. Objects are still thrown at Neymar's head – fists and feet are added to the game for now on. Neymar is all about bruise skin and bloody injuries. He never complains though – because he knows Paolo is ready to go to Leo's shop and starts a fight. The day his eyebrow arch is broke and a black eye can join his collection of bruises, Paolo tells him how disappointing and pitiful human being he is. How nobody gonna ever love him because he doesn't deserve someone's affection and tenderness. Neymar doesn't believe him but it's still hurt – and his mind keep it in a part of his subconscious without his own permission.

 

After that, Neymar is nowhere to be seen.

 

+

 

The Brazilian disappears for so long that Leo starts to wonder if Paolo has finally succeeded in killing him with his bare fists. He hasn't. Because some rainy night in December, the Argentinean's door suddenly rings at four in the morning. Leo is barely awake when he goes downstairs and eventually manages to open the entrance to his house. And there he is – a drenching and freezing Neymar on his doorstep. He's got a hood up on his head but Leo still can guess the bruise that takes almost all his right jaw. Under Leo's stare, Neymar feels self-conscious and tries to transfer his weight onto his left foot – wincing in pain with the motion. The Argentinean is quiet for almost five minutes now and Neymar starts to vomit words without meaning to.

 

– Hey, hi. It's been a long time, I kind of disappear these last few weeks, months. It's fucking early and I know you are really not a morning person and you like your sleep more than anything. 'M sorry about that, really. But I got into a fight with Paolo and he kicks me out of the house, the piece of shit. Even if it's my apartment, not his. He also beats me 'til his fists are bleeding but nothing new here, so I really don't know why I'm telling you all this. I put my hood on because I'm pretty sure I look like a gangster and I'm going to scare every person I see in the streets. But it's the middle of the night so I guess I'm not going to meet anybody in the streets. Anyway, I know I have no way to ask that but I really don't know where else to go so I came to your house. I really, really need a place to crash tonight. Just for tonight, I swear. Please ? Pretty please Leo, I will be invisible. You will not realize I'm here. I can make breakfast in the morning if you want; as a gift, for you to forgive me. For the disappearance and bursting in your house at fucking four in the morning. I will be good, I swear. … Oh, and I think my ankle is broken.

 

When he stops talking, Neymar is breathless and Leo hasn't blink once. The smaller man doesn't say a word from the moment he opens the door to the second he slips back into his bed. He takes the Brazilian's wrist, pulls him inside, closes the door, leads him to his bedroom, makes him change his clothes to dry ones and proceeds to get him to bed without listening to the younger man's protestations. Everything is silence and nothing is said until the next morning.

 

+

 

When Leo wakes up to the smell of coffee and burning toasts, he soon realizes an ankle isn't the only thing broke in the Brazilian. Everything in Neymar is shattered in pieces – his ankle, his heart, his self-esteem, his mind. Neymar needs a medicine that can't be prescribed at the pharmacy but Leo is still willing to turn the whole world over to find it. So when he goes downstairs – directly into his kitchen, he happily eats his toasts even if they taste more burnt than bread. At least, the coffee is like he usually takes it. He doesn't question Neymar about the « Paolo » situation but he says that he's really glad to have him back in his life. The Brazilian doesn't ask but Leo still gives him news about Rafinha and Geri because he knows the younger man wants to – even if he thinks he hasn't have the right to inquire such things. (Thanks to Paolo for that.)

 

On a normal day, Leo will keep quiet and Neymar will be chitchatting all day long. Except now, Neymar is broken on the inside and bruised on the outside. It's pretty weird for Leo to not heard the Brazilian's voice but, however, he doesn't force things. He lets him curling himself in a blanket, lying on the couch while watching dumb cartoons for hours. The day pass – the night comes and the next morning too. The following day, Leo grabs Neymar by the arm and drags him to his car. When they come home from the hospital, the younger man got a cast that makes him grumpy. Leo doesn't complain once, he can deal with that if it means Neymar is with him – far away from Paolo.

 

+

 

It a long way from recovery. After a few weeks, Neymar's body is all about tattoos and no bruises can be seen on the tanned skin. His eyebrow arch is healed for way longer (even before he comes to Leo's house) but there is a nasty bruise on Neymar's ribs that take a little bit more of time to disappear. At night, when Neymar is deep in Morphée's arms, Leo can't help but lets his fingers traveled all over the abused skin. The broken ankle is another story. It takes two months and a half for the cast to be gone and the pain with it. Then, you add another three weeks for rehabilitation and everything is finally back to normal. A little bit more than three months after their reunion, Neymar's physical damages can be put behind them.

 

The road is still long above on them because psychological damages are a lot harder to heal than any other injuries. It takes patience and a lot of love – good thing Leo has plenty of both of them. Leo who is shy and doesn't like to talk about his feeling is also the same Leo who love Neymar since the day he first notices the bruises. So these Leo and all the Leo there are inside Leo's body learn how you help a victim of mental abusive to make their brains start thinking they are worth it again. When his fingers brush against Neymar's warm skin they say that he deserves to be loved. When his mouth kisses a skinny shoulder during a washing-up session, there is a silent message saying « you are the most beautiful human on earth and I'm glad you choose to ring at my door at fucking four o'clock in the morning ». When a body is sliding right next to another one in a bed, it's a way to declare without words that the luckiest man on earth is currently embracing his lover and he will never change that for anything in the world. Most of the things are unsaid between them but, sometimes, the words are spoken at loud and vibrant in the air.

 

For time to time, Neymar flinches when someones suddenly make a big gesture with his hands – never with Leo. Neymar's brain doesn't associate the Argentinean with violence and pain. (Never, ever, think about it actually.) The Brazilian takes his time but makes progress, baby step by baby step. After spending almost five months inside Leo's apartment, he starts going out again. He reunites with Rafinha and Geri – curiously, it's Rafa who almost breaks his ribs when he hugs him for the first time since all the months of disappearance. He gives up on boxing even if his ankle is back to normal; putting his gloves and helmet in the back of a closet he never opens. On the contrary, he plays football for the first time and discovers he's pretty good at it. Well, he thinks that before he asks Leo to play with him – Leo is a fucking genius with a ball. He's also a sore loser and Neymar always ends up shutting his protests with breath-taking kisses.

 

+

 

Everything is at risk of going down again when Paolo shows up at Leo's shop one morning. The Argentinean is nowhere to be seen – inking a phoenix on someone back in another room. There is only Neymar and Gerard in the main room and the atmosphere tenses up immediately when they realize who is standing in the entrance of the tattoo parlor. The Brazilian is so quick to stand up that Geri hasn't had the time to put his hand on the inked arm and force him to stay put. He grabs his phone in the back pocket of his jeans and quickly types a number – ready to call the police if something goes wrong. And it's destined to go wrong because Paolo is a piece of shit who's been beating his ex-boyfriend. Except Neymar's steps are steady when he walks straight to the older Brazilian – his shoulders tense, his eyes raise up. Paolo opens his mouth to say something but he doesn't have the time for a word to break through his lips because Neymar is already smashing his fist into his nose. Then, he calmly says to him to go rot in hell and push him outside the shop – closing the door on the outrageous expression that twists his face.

 

As soon as Neymar goes back to the couch he was sitting before, Geri high-fives him with a huge grin stretching his lips – pride easily reading for his attitude. Way later that day – when Neymar is curled against Leo's torso in their bed, he tells him all about this morning. Leo puts an open-mouth kiss against the back of Neymar's neck that says how proud he is of him.

 

+

 

Leo doesn't say that he loves Neymar (even if he does – more than anything else really). Instead, he keeps repeating the same four words in Neymar's ears until he falls asleep and the words are burning all night long in his dreams.

 

_You are worth it._

 


End file.
